Macau casino experience

Last edit: mungroo on Monday, 16th February 2009 2:04 pmLast response by Dramman 8th March 7:13pm

I am visiting Hong Kong in late-March and I am considering a 36 hour side-trip to Macau. I have read a lot of the informative reviews and postings on this site. I enjoy playing black jack and I am trying to get a sense of the vibe in the Macau casinos. I don't really want to sit with a mass of desperate, stone-faced, tea-drinking degenerates (I get enough of that in local casinos here in Vancouver, BC). I realize it's not a Vegas-like atmosphere but is there a decent buzz in the casinos? Do they serve complimentary alcoholic drinks at the tables? This is critical to my gambling experience.

awesome! macau is a fascinating place to say the least. i'd suggest doing mgm grand macau and wynn... they are the most "western" of the macau casinos. as for the booze, drinking isn't pushed there as it is in vegas... there are bars and i'm sure if you ask they will bring your drinks to the tables. i'm sure dramman can fill in some details, he just got back. dramman?

Sorry I am a little late to this party. I do not cruise the boards too much. Hope I am not too late.

First, Macau is more than the casinos. Its a beautiful little city that is very accessible. Find time to sight see around the plazas and old Taipa. One thing Vegas really lacks that Macau has is the chance to relax without spending tons of money or literally rubbing shoulders with thousands.

In quite a few joints the crowds unfortunately will be much like you describe, and many others will share some aspects. If your a blackjack player that narrows the list a bit (baccarat is by far the most popular game). All the showy new places will have BJ. Some of my picks not mentioned yet you may want to look at (in geographic order mainly).

1. Sands - While crowded its a great wild vibe, lots of young people.
2. Ponte 16 - Classy place, just a little isolated (and just barely).
3. Four Seasons (Plaza casino?) - Very nice small casino with high limits to keep out the riff-raff
4. Crown - While stone-faced tea drinking degenerates, they are of the most sedate variety. High limits again keep out the riff-raff.

Liquor service is not exactly like LV. However if your nice and/or at a higher limit table you should be able to get some. Keep in mind this is an unusal request, and you may get some confusion from the staff (my G-n-T order at the MGM once went up four diffrent levels of management). If the booze is critical, just buy it at the bar and take it to a table (never had a problem with this).

Finally some transportation tips. You can take the ferry directly two and from the HK airport (on a limited schedule, check the airport website). Once in the SAR you can go quite a few places for free using the hotel shuttle buses and a bit of planning if you want (LVS runs an amazing variety of routes connecting their casinos to each other and various ports of entry). Taxis are very cheap however, so don't go overboard worrying about the buses.

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